Heat-engine.



H. W. SHONNARD.

HEAT ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED T313. 5, 1012.

Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA I'LANOURAI'II CD-IWASHINUTON. D. c.

H. W. SHONNARD.

HEAT ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1 mm, 1912.

1,072,1 80. Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

WITNESSES: W INVENTUR ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANOCHIAPII c0..wASH|Nn1'0N, v c.

Patent ed Sept. 2, 1913.

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M WN R m 3& 3% u m 4 I /fl N M i 1 n W 0 6 .u l V m Y M I ||l| :1: B 7 W I l1 5 1 7 6 in z 5 HHIIII 1 I z H. W. SHONNARD.

HEAT ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED rm. 5, 1912.

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"WITNESSES 1Q Md ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO WASHINGTON, n. C-

H. W. SHONNARD.

HEAT ENGINE APPLICATION FILED FEB. s, 1012.

EWV E Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

4 SHEBTS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSES: lama QMZWL urn - BY @Z/hcJV/ liml,

ATTORNEYS HAROLD W. SHONNARD, OF

PAENT FFKCE,

EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

HEAT-ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 2, 1 913.

Original application filed September 28, 1911, Serial No. 651,882. Divided and this application filed February 5, 1912.

Serial No. 675,685.

To all QUILOM, it may concern Be itknown that ii, Ilanonn lV. Snoin'nann, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex and, State oi New Jersey, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in .lleat-llngines; and I do hereby declare the tollowing to be a tall, clear, and exact (lescript'ion oi the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appcrtains to make and use the same.

The present invention is a division of an application for U. S. Patent filed by me on September 28th, 1911, Serial Number (351882 and relates particularly to a :torm ol internal combustion engine therein shown and described wherein the explosive mixture is supplied in a highly heated condition to the cylinders.

My invention provides a simple and perfeet solution of this dillieulty together with an efficient lubricating means.

Certain exemplifying en'ibodiments oi. my invention are illustrated in tin accompanying drawings wherein- Figure l is an elevation o'l my engine, one cylinder being shown in section, Fig. 1s a sectional view of one fuel inlet valve, Fig. 3 is a cross section of that portion of a torpedo in which the engine is locatei'l. Fig. 4t is a partial elevation of the engine showing two valves in section, Fig. 5 is a sectional diagramu'iatic view of the preferred air and fuel supply and the lubricating means, and Fig. (3 shows a modilicd form of valve en'lbodying the advantages o'l. my oil-pressure packing.

l/Vhile I have shown my engine as constructed for use in submarine torpedoes wherein it has great advantages, I do not limit myself to any particular use for the engine. Neither do I limit mysell. to the use of my improvement in engines to whlch the mixture is supplied at a very high temperature, as my improvements are applicable in many forms of engine using mixtures supplied at ordinary tcu'iperaturns.

The torpedo shell is shown at 20 and the engine is located within said shell between two bulkheads 21. and 22, as shown in Fig.

That portion of the shell 20 which surrounds the engine is provided with openings 23, whereby the Water has access to all of the exterior of the engine, thus providing the most ellicient possible cooling agent. W'hilc those parts oi. the engine which require cooling are thus enveloped in sea water, the delicate electrical sparkingmechanism is ellicicntly protected from the eil'cct oil contact with water by being incloscd behind the rear bulkhead 21. This sparking mechanism is shown in .liig. 3; the plugs at 2*, and their actuating rods at 25; These are operated by cams 26 and are of a well known coi'istruction requiring no further description.

The crank attachment for the main shaft may be ol. any desired construction and preterably comprises a sleeve 27 running on ball bearings and appropriately connected to the propeller or other driven structure. The two ends of the sleeve 27 are connected by a crank pin 29 driven by connecting rods 30 whose detailed novel structure is shown in .my a'loresaid application for patent, and is not claimed herein. It needs no further description here.

The engine cylinders, prcl'erably four in number, are shown at 31, and the pistons at :39 are secured to the outer ends oil. the connecting rods 30 by special novel means illustrated in my aforesaid patent application, and, not herein claimed. As shown in Fig. 13, the connecting rods and crank pin move within an inclosed crank case, and this inclosure is supplied in a well known manner with oil, the movements of the crank and rods serving to throw the oil into contact with all moving parts.

With each cylinder 31 there are associated three valves, when the engine is to be used as an internal explosion engine. These are the air inlet valve 323, the fuel inlet valve 34-, and the exhaust valve 35. lVhere the engine is used with heated conmressed air alone, without internal combustion the valve 23-1: may be omitted. Such a mode of construction and method cl" operation are within my broad invention.

The preferred construction of the air inlet. valve is shown in Fig. t. The valve stem 36 carries two packings 37, 38 and a valve head 53$) whereby the main valve chamber is divided into compartments sit), -fl-l, normally closed. The ci'nnprcssed air or equivalent gas is admitted to the chamber .1-0 just under the valve head. 39 thri'iugh the passage 42, and oil is admitted to the chamber ll by the passage 43. Appropriate means are employed for supplying the oil under pressure tending to prevent escape of a1r past.

37 is greater than that of 39, the latter is.

normally held to its seat, and this tendency is reinforced and is preserved even when the air pressure is not supplied to the engine, by the superiority of the area of the packing 38 over 37, and the pressure of the oil within the space between them. The opening of each air valve at the proper moment is accomplished in a Well known manner by a cam 44 acting upon the roller-foot 45. It will be seen that, by this arrangement of the air-admission valve, I am able to completely solve the problems presented by the necessity of extremely rapid, accurate and complete control of an intensely hot gas under high pressure. The packings 37 and 38 are carefully fitted to avoid leakage so far as possible, but they would be quite inadequate were it not for the presence of the oil in the chamber 41, whose pressure counteracts that of the air and confines the latter within the chamber 40, save when liberated into the cylinder each time that the valve head 39 is lifted. There will, of course, exist a slow leakage of oil outward past the packing 38, but since the valve body opens directly into the crank chamber, this merely adds to the general body of the lubricating oil in said chamber. Thus I discard the sliding valve and the spring pressed puppet valve, and am enabled to successively accomplish my novel end by use of an unbalanced puppet valve normally held closed by pressure of the air itself.

, The fuel-admission valve is best shown in Fig. 2. In this instance, also, I prefer to use as a lubricant oil under pressure; but the fuel is supplied at a considerably higher pressure than either the air or the oil. WVithin the valve chamber 34 slides the stem 44, with the tapering head 45 which normally closes the opening through which fuel passes from the chamber 46 to the usual sprayer (not shown in detail). The liquid fuel, gasolene, alcohol or the like, enters under pressure through the pipe 47, and the oil is admitted around the stem 44 by the pipe 48. Inasmuch as it would be dangerous to run any risk of accidental escape of the fuel into the crank case, I prefer to place this fuel valve altogether outside of the engine. As shown in Fig. 2, any accidental leakage of oil and fuel would take place around the stem 44 where it leaves the main chamber 34 at 49. The valve is normally held seated by a spring 50, and is raised by ing upon a proper cam of the stem 51 does not qulte reach the lnner a sliding stem 51, havi1'1ga-step 52, bear- 53. The outer end end of the stem 44, when the valve is seated, and the step 52 is held down against its cam by the intermediate spring 54, in the cavity 55. By this expedient the valve can seat itself perfectly, independently of absolutely exact adjustment in the relative position of the cam; and wear at the cam 53 or step 52 does not interfere with perfect seating.

The exhaust valve is of a well known character. It is a puppet valve 56 (Fig. 4)

having a stem 57 provided with a suitable:

step 58 bearing upon a cam 59. It is seated by the spring 60, and admits gases from each cylinder to its appropriate exhaust pipe 61, through which these gases find their Way into the interior of the torpedo behind the bulkhead 21. The gases are discharged thence in any well known manner.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a preferred arrangement for supply of fuel, air and oil,

in connection with certain associated apparatus used in torpedoes. It is to be understood that the relative positions of the parts shown are not essential, and that my present invention is not limited to use of the engine with special torpedo apparatus. The usual compressed air flask is shown at 62, the contents thereof passing through the usual valve 63 and the pipe 64. The liquid and volatile fuel is stored in the tank 65, whence it is delivered to the admission valves 34 by the pipe 66. The position of the usual starting valve is indicated at 67, and this communicates in a well known manner by the pipe 68 with the regulating valve 69. The pipe 7 O conveys the very highly compressed air charged within 62, from 63 to 67. The air admitted through the regu lating valve 69 to the chamber71 is at a very considerable pressure, inferior however to that of the air in the flask 62. This high pressure is somewhat out down when the engine is running by the perforated disk communicated to this oil by means of the pipe 77, connecting the top of the vessel 75 with the large pipe 73. Other means may be used for creating the oil pressure and, as before stated, this pressure need not be the same as that underwhich the air is supplied. Where desired, superheating of the air delivered through the pipe 73 is accomplished by appropriate apparatus hitherto used in torpedoes in connection with the turbine engines employed for driving them.

While 1 have shown an arrangement whereby the highly heated air is carbureted after admission to the cylinders, it is to be understood that it is within the scope of my invention to combine the volatile fuel with the air before admission of the mixture.

The special valve construction which 1 have described makes it feasible to use very high initial temperatures and thus obtain a great increase in the horse power of an engine of a given size.

It is to be understood that in my claims the expression air covers any gas tit to be raised to a high temperature and chemically united with the fuel within the engine.

Various modifications may be made in my structure without departing from my invention, and I do not limit myself to the details herein shown and described.

WV hat I claim is- 1. A heat engine having a suitable packed automatic valve and external means for supplying oil under pressure to the packing of said valve, substantially as described.

2. A heat engine having an admission valve for supplying fluid thereto, a packing on said valve, external means for supplying oil to said packing and means for supplying air pressure to said oil, substantially as described.

8. In a heat engine, a valve chamber and valve seat, a valve stem carrying a head and two separated packings, means for supplying fluid under pressure to the space between said head and the nearer packing, and means for supplying oil under pressure to the space between said packings, substantially as described.

t. In a heat engine, a valve chamber and a valve seat, a valve stem carrying a head and two separated packings having each a greater area than that exposed by the valve head when on its seat, means for supplying fluid under pressure to the space between said head and the nearer packing, and means for supplying oil under pressure to the space between said packings, substantially as described.

5. In a heat engine, a valve chamber and valve seat, a valve stem carrying a head and two separated packings, the nearer packing having an area superior to that exposed by the head when on its seat, and the farther packing having a still greater area, means for supplying fluid under pressure to the space between said head and the nearer packing, and means for supplying oil under pressure to the space between said packings, substantially as described.

(3. In a heat engine having cylinders, pistons and a crank case, a valve chamber opening into said crank case and provided with a valve seat, a valve stem carrying a head and two separated paekings, the farther one of which normally closes the opening into the crank case, means for supplying fluid under pressure to the space between said head and the nearer packing, and means for supplying oil under pressure to the space between said packings, substantially as described.

7. In a heat engine having a cylinder, a piston, and a crank shaft, a cam on said shaft, a puppet valve operated by said cam and having a stem carrying a valve head and two separated packings, means for supplying Iluid under pressure immediately behind said valve head and means for supplying oil under pressure between said packings, substantially as described.

8. In a heat engine, a valve chamber having a seat and two side openings thereto, a valve stem within said chamber carrying a head adapted to fit upon said seat, a packing between said side openings and a third packing beyond the other side opening, said packings having each an area greater than that exposed by the valve head when seated; in combination with a reservoir of compressed air connected to the side opening next beneath the valve head, an oil tank connected with the other side opening and means for admitting compressed air from said reservoir to said oil tank, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

I [AROLD \V. SIIONNARD.

\Vitnesses:

If. S. MAoKavn, KATHARINE C. Winn).

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

